


Pain Killers and Awkward Hugs

by InTheEndItMatters



Category: Borderlands
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 00:30:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5606842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InTheEndItMatters/pseuds/InTheEndItMatters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axton gets hurt, Zer0 shows some emotion for once.. Well, as much emotion as a faceless assassin can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pain Killers and Awkward Hugs

**Author's Note:**

> Made some text changes, idea is the same but it flows better. :)

Pain, that’s all there was. It shot through him like lightning every time he moved. His eyes rolled around in his head, trying to remember where he was, what he was doing… Who… Who had hit him. The sky was blue, all was silent around him, his heart was beating, he could hear it. Well, trying to beat, trying to pump blood through broken veins.  
Blackness clawed at the edges of his eyes, the pain was fading. It felt far away, it felt… Comforting?  
His head jerks up - he wasn’t lying in the snow anymore. Looking around, the pain had dulled considerably and he moves his arm to try and sit up. Then there was something black hovering over his face. He squinted his eyes… Zer0?  
A hand touched his forehead lightly before disappearing and the tall figure stalked gracefully over to the other side of the - what was this, a cave? Yeah, that’s what it looked like. And it smelled like Bullymongs. Or wait, it was whatever was so freaking comfortable around him that smelled like Bullymongs. So soft, so warm… Axton sunk into it, the horrid smell almost forgotten.  
He opened his eyes again as a hand was on his forehead again, a red “!” illuminating his face and he squinted his eyes at the black figure as it seemed to relax a bit “You went very still / I was starting to worry / I am glad you’re fine.”  
The distinct grinding of a low robotic voice was oddly calming to him and he sunk farther into the fur. “Yeah, it’s just… This is so soft, Zee. You get this just for me, did you?”  
“I did.” Came the short reply as Zer0 stood and walked across the cave again.  
Axton turned his head and realized he was cooking something, probably the meat from the Bullymongs Zer0 apparently slaughtered just for him. He smiled a bit at the thought, so the robot guy wasn’t heartless.  
The black figure pushed something towards him, his eyes slowly focused and he realized it was a chunk of meat. “Eat.” Said the faceless assassin.  
Axton’s mind started wandering again as he thought about all they’d been through, killing Jack, loosing Roland, all of Lilith’s crazy tantrums, and yet he’d never seen the mysterious guy’s face.  
“Hey, dude…” Axton choked out as Zer0 helped him to sit up. “Why have I never seen your face?”  
The black, faceless mask tilts slightly “Even without one / I would still be the same me / Do you care that much?”  
“Well, yeah. You’ve seen my face. Do you, like, not trust us?” He could see the assassin prickle at that comment, he had to make it about trust, didn’t he. They had eachothers backs through thick and thin, and the guy - alien - robot - thing did just save his life. Damn it, Axton! This kinda thing is what drove your wife mad… He sighed as the assassin stood up and walked out into the raging blizzard at the mouth of the cave.

Hours passed. Axton faded in and out of consciousness, debating on whether or not he had hurt the dark assassin’s feelings… And whether or not Zer0 actually had feelings to hurt.  
Soft footsteps crunched in the now settled snow, and Axton sat himself up to see the dark figure approaching again, snow and icicles hanging off leather armor as they set down more wood by the dwindling supply for the fire. Well, at least something hadn’t changed, Zer0’s always doing something productive.  
“Hey.” Axton said with a little remorse in his voice. Zer0 didn’t respond.  
“Hey!” He said louder, causing the assassin to turn around and stare at him with a dark faceplate. “So, uh… Sorry if I offended you earlier, you know I trust you. And if you don’t want to show me your face, you don’t gotta.”  
The dark figure walked towards him, lanky legs moving surprisingly gracefully. No matter how long Axton knew Zer0, he could never get used to how the assassin moved so… So… Mechanically, like a machine that had just been lubricated. He’d never seen Zer0 slip or get hurt either. He frowned as he started wandering through his thoughts before a cold breeze hit his skin and the frozen figure crawled under the blankets too. Not touching him of course.  
But he couldn’t deny he was a little disappointed at that.  
Zer0 laid with their back to him, and he assumed this was the assassin's way of saying he trusted Axton too. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Zer0 wasn’t great with words. He always spoke elegantly in haikus but could never directly hit the point and always scurried around it like a scared Rat.  
Axton turned onto his side, the dull ache in his chest returning slightly, but not enough to disturb him from his goal: To try and hug Zer0.  
Turns out, he succeeded without being swiftly jabbed in the throat. This was progress. He had tried once before and had his windpipe crushed in that exact fashion. He pulled the taller assassin closer to his chest, armor still cold and icicles slowly melting off of it.  
Axton forgot about how light Zer0 was, despite being over six and a half feet tall. He pulled him closer with ease and found himself enjoying hugging the awkward assassin, who had tensed up and felt like a rock.  
He chuckled lightly, it was kinda cute.  
Axton buried his face into the back of an extremely awkward feeling assassin.  
All Zer0 wanted was to replenish the firewood before he got some sleep, they’d been too busy taking care of the wounded Axton to do so. A small sigh escapes their lips but they don’t relax.

Just let Axton sleep it off, it’s probably just an effect of the pain killers.  
Right?


End file.
